


Ghosts

by whooshboomtree



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-18
Updated: 2014-08-18
Packaged: 2018-02-13 16:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2157204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whooshboomtree/pseuds/whooshboomtree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If there was one thing that frightened the commander and war veteran, it was ghosts. Because there's no fighting something that isn't there. Post X6 XZero fluff</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghosts

X considered himself to be fairly good at controlling fear.

After six wars, he had to be.  There was no time for fear or hesitance on the battlefield.  Especially as a commander.  When he felt fear, he hid it behind a mask of calm.  Everyone counted on him.

But if there was one thing X was terrified of, it was ghosts.

There was no fighting back against ghosts.  No reasoning with them.  No amount of pleading would calm them, punches and kicks passing through them as if they weren’t there, even when they were all too real to the eye and ear.  Ghosts were smart.  Ghosts knew how to hurt someone with words.

And that was what X saw right now.  Ghosts.  People long-since passed, spirits of the fallen.  Lives he hadn’t been able to save, lives he’d taken with his own hands.

Six long wars’ worth of ghosts.

Some taunted him, calling him weak, hesitant.  Others cried, their wails of anguish becoming a deafening chorus to his aural circuits.  Some howled for lost comrades, others pleaded with him, begging to be taken home to friends and family they’d been ripped away from.  Still others questioned him, reaching out ethereal hands and tearfully asking why he’d left them behind, why he hadn’t saved them, and there were so many of them and it was his fault, he should have saved them, he should have fought harder for them . . . !

X woke from the nightmare screaming, scrambling into a sitting position and frantically looking around the room as though searching for the ghosts that had plagued him.  Bad dream . . . bad dream . . . no ghosts . . . bad dream . . .

He couldn’t breathe, he wanted Zero, Zero always helped him through his nightmares, it was so hard getting through them after he died, he wanted Zero . . .

As if some higher power had answered his plea, he felt gentle hands settling on his shoulders, a familiar voice softly murmuring his name and telling him to take deep breaths.  X had grown so accustomed to being alone after the Fifth Uprising that in his moment of terror he’d forgotten about the unit who had laid down to sleep next to him that night.  “X, it’s just me, you’re all right.  It’s all right . . .”

X leaned his head into his hands and began to sob quietly, allowing Zero’s warm arms to settle around him and draw him close.  “Ghosts,” he whimpered, trying to get the blond to understand what had shaken him so badly.  “G-ghosts . . . couldn’t save . . . sh-should have saved . . .”

“Shhhh . . .”  Zero’s voice was soft, soothing, far removed from its usual, almost gruff stoicism.  “It wasn’t real, it’s okay.  I’m real right now- it’s just me and you.”  His arms tightened around the Lightbot almost imperceptibly, and he seemed to tremble.  “I’m here . . .”

“Don’t leave,” X whispered hoarsely, turning to nestle his head against Zero’s shoulder.  “Don’t leave me again . . .”

Silence.

“I’m sorry, X.”

X sniffled softly, and Zero frowned, running a hand through his curly brown hair.  “Why,” X said, his voice muffled by the blond’s slightly-too-big red t-shirt.  “Why’d you leave . . .”

“I couldn’t let him hurt you,” Zero murmured.  “He . . . he would have killed you, I couldn’t-”  He paused, drawing a shaky breath to steady his voice.  “I need you too much . . .”

“But I need you too!”  X raised his head, wiping his eyes and fixing Zero with an almost desperate gaze.  “We’re in this together you _idiot_!”

He brought his fist hard against Zero’s chest, another sob rising in his throat.  “You idiot,” he repeated softly, striking the blond’s torso several more times, each swing weaker than the last.  “Y-you stupid . . . idiot . . .”

Not knowing what to say, Zero merely closed his eyes, clutching the Lightbot against his chest and fighting back the foreign heat in his optics.  “Just . . .”  X gave him a tug, and both units laid down, still wrapped in one another’s arms.  “Zero, please, j-just . . .”

Zero lifted his head, blinking at X questioningly and placing a hand on his cheek as if to encourage him to continue.  When X spoke again, Zero felt his heart twist at the lone word that slipped past the Lightbot’s lips.

“Stay.”

The blond nuzzled the top of X’s head, somehow comforted by his sweet, familiar smell.  “I’ll stay,” he whispered.  “I promise I’ll stay . . . I’m here, X . . .”  His brow furrowed slightly, arms once again tightening around the other unit as if in refusal to lose him, refusal to let him go again.  “I’m here . . .”


End file.
